DOUBLE GERANIUMS In my garden this will be the Year of the Fluffy Flower. Ever since the first mail order catalogs arrived last December I have been mesmerized by the pictures of double-flowered varieties of hellebores, daylilies, primroses and Shasta daisies. My usual love of simplicity has gone south in favor of the pursuit of … Read more
HALO HYDRANGEAS Every once in awhile a new plant or group of plants comes along that seems to embody all of the prevailing horticultural trends. It happened in 2006, when Hines Horticulture, one of America’s biggest wholesale plant growers, introduced its Halo Hydrangeasâ„¢. This spring these archetypal twenty-first century plants will be widely available … Read more
MORE SNOWDROPS Last year at about this time, I indulged my passion for an obscure snowdrop and ordered a small expensive specimen from an equally small catalog. Last night I did it again, only this time I ordered several plants. I can see this becoming an annual ritual, and I am mindful of the … Read more
The longer that I toil in the soil the more I appreciate versatile plants like digitalis, most often known as foxglove. Planting a selection of foxglove species and cultivars in the garden will provide you with many weeks of colorful bloom in the spring and summer, but that is only the beginning. The plants also … Read more
I have a passion for the yellow-flowered forms of common plants. Yellow roses, like Graham Thomas and Golden Unicorn, entrance me so thoroughly that I am willing to wage an unending battle with black spot to enjoy their charms. I covet yellow violets and the illusive yellow geranium. Not long ago I acquired a yellow-flowering … Read more
